Mower



E. SMITH. Mower.

No. 233,035'. Patented Ooi. 5, W80..

.Fifi

NAPETERS, PHQTOLITHOGRAFHER, WMSHINGTON` n C vllrfirraoA STATES PATENT @Trina EPHRAIM SMITH, OF IITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

lVlOWER.

VSPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent No. 233,035, dated October 5, 1880. Application filed September 12, 1879.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, EPHRAIM SMITH, of Pittsburg', in the county of Allegheny and State ot' Pennsylvania, have invented an Improved l\Iowingl\Iachine; and I do hereby declare that thc following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being' had to the accompanying drawings, making part ot this specification.

Figure lisa top view ot' the principal parts ot' a mowing-machine, showing' my improvements and the mode of their application, Figs.l 2 and 3, views of parts detached.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all ot1 the figures.

My invention consists, first, in the arrangement of a spring-sheave, in combination with the hinge-bar, lifting chain, cord, or band, and the lifting' and adjusting lever, so that it acts between the said hinge-bar and lever upon the chain without interfering with the direct action ot' the lever on the hinge-bar through the chain; second, in a lever mountedon the hingebar, arranged, in combination with the liftingchain and the finger-bar, so that the sustaining action ofthe chain is directly transmitted to the finger-bar in such a manner as to keep the outer end ofthe linger-bar constantly sustained thereby, both when the machine is at work and when the linger-bar is raised out of action; and, third, in the combination of this lever, thus acting on the tinger-bar and acted on by the lifting chain, with the aforesaid spring-sheave, whereby the action ot' the latter is constant upon the finger-bar through the said lever, substantially as hereinafter specitied.

In the drawings, A represents the machineframe mounted on wheels, as usual; B, my improved spring lifting-sheave; D, the dragbar; E, the lifting and adjusting chain; F, the hinge-bar, QG, the adjusting and lifting lever, H, an arc or segment attached to the said lever, and receiving the chain, band, or cord E to be partially wound or taken up thereon 5 I, my improved finger-bar balancing-lever; and L, the finger-bar, which here is to be understood as including the cutter-bar and other parts to be lifted therewith.

The general arrangement and operation of I the parts will be understood by reference to the drawings by those skilled in the art.

The driver, as he sits on his seat, (not here represented,) moves the lever G to raise and adjust the linger-bar by acting on the chain Eand through that lifting or lowering the hinge-bar F, and with it the finger-bar hinged thereto. Y

The spring-sheave B is arranged and applied to the chain E substantially as shown in Fig. 1. The use of this spring-sheaveis to nearly counterbalance the hin ge-bar F and linger-bar L and its appendages, and thereby to cause the linger-bar to` run lightly over the ground and rise easily over obstructions, and lessen side draft on the machine, and also to render theoperation of raising the linger-bar easy to the driver. At the same time it does not interfere with the direct action of the 1ever G in raising and lowering the thrlger-bar and in sustaining it at the proper height; for, since it is coupled to the chain E between the said lever and the hinge-bar, it acts freely to balance and lift on the finger-bar, thereby rendering the draft of the same light, the part of the chain between the sheave and the lever G allowing a slack as well as a taut chain while the machine is working, but at the same time the finger-bar is rmly sustained all the time by the lever G, just the same as it' the springsheave were not applied at all. This is an im portant feature, since the spring sheave could not he relied on ot' itself to sustain the finger-bar and prevent its plunging into the ground on meeting an obstruction.

The chain E (having preferably the construction shown -in the drawings) tits with its open links over sprocket-projections c c on the periphery of the sheave B, which is lnounted on a tiXed pivot, d, secured to the frame of the machine. The spring f within the sheave is ot' sufficient strength to nearly counterbalance the weight ot' the linger-bar and its appendages, and is adjustable in force by winding up on its pivot'. This springis peculiarly mount- 95 ed in the sheave. Its outer end is coupled to the inner periphery of the sheave by a hook or bolt, g, while its inner end, in the form of a hook, holds upon the edge of a notch, 711made in a cylindrical or hollow projection, t', secured IOO around the pivot d or formed therewith, all substantially as shown in Fig. 3. By this construction not only has the spring a firm and sure hold at its inner end by the enlarged bearing on which it holds, but itis prevented from bearing on the hub ofthe sheave, and consequently from interfering, by friction or pressure, with the free movementof the sheave. The sheave is turned to wind up the spring to the requisite force before mounting the chain E over its sprockets, and when the forward end of the chain is secured to the lever Gr or its segment the whole device is complete and ready for operation.

When the rear end of the chain, cord, or band E is attached directly to the hinge-bar F, which carries the heel or inner end of the finger-bar, the lifting action of the same operates simply to lift that end of the finger-bar, the outer end of the same being dependent on the rigidity of its connection with the hinge bar to be lifted, and there is consequently a sagging of the said outer end unless some provision is made to lift it properly. For this purpose I employ a balancing-lever, I, which is pivoted to the hinge-bar F at l, Fig. 2, theinner end, m, of the same being connected directly with the rear endof the lifting-chain E, which has no other connection with the hingebar or fin ger-bar, and lifts them thereby. The outer end, n, of the said leverI bears on the heel end of the finger-bar inside of its pivot-joint and a littledistance therefrom, as shown. The two arms ofthe lever are so proportioned in length, the inner arm, m, being the longer, as to obtain the desired leverage on the finger-bar to balance it by the lifting of the chain E. With this construction and arrangement ot' the lever I, while the mower is in operation the constant lifting of the spring-sheave B on the chain E acts through this lever to partly sustain the weight of the 1in ger-bar and to keep the outer end thereof elevated, as desired, so as to run very lightly with little side draft on the machine and to ride freely over obstructions, and the elastic movementimparted to the finger-bar by the said spring-'sheave is made even more sensitive by this lever; and when the driver draws on the chain E by the lever G to raise the finger-bar, the connection of the chain being directly with the lever I, the outer end of the finger-bar feels the lifting action as quickly as the inner end, and it is preferable to so balance the finger-bar that its outer end will rise a little quicker and more than the inner end thereof. Thus the action of the lever I is constant upon the finger-bar and controls all its movements.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The spring-sheave B, in combination with the chain E, hinge-bar F, and lifting-lever Gr, arranged to be connected with the chain between the lever and hinge-bar, and not interfere with the action ofthe lever on the fingerbar through the said chain, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

2. The lever l, mounted on the hinge-bar F, in combination with the finger-bar L, liftingchain E, having a yielding support, and mechanism for adjusting the chain and securing it in any desired position, whereby the weight of the finger-bar is partly sustained and its outer end counterbalanced when the machine is in operation substantially as herein set forth.

3. rlhe combination of the lifting-chain E, spring-sheave B, lever I, and finger-bar L, operating together, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

The foregoing` sgecification signed by me 8o this 30th day of June, 1879.

Witnesses: EPHBAINI SMITH.

J. S. BROWN, R. F. OsGooD. 

